


the right swipe

by bugheadotp



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, tinder au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-08-24 06:39:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16634897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bugheadotp/pseuds/bugheadotp
Summary: “Why don’t you try Tinder? It did well for us, right babe?”“Archiekins, that’s brilliant. Betty, hand me your phone please.” Veronica held her hand out where her friend placed the phone. “We’re going to set you up with the best profile and find you your dream guy.”“Oh God,” Betty groaned, laying her head on the armrest of the sofa.~AKA They meet on Tinder AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> a massive thank you to @bugggghead, @bettyl0vesjuggie & @mogitz for being fabulous cheerleaders, helping me whenever i got stuck and putting up with my constant messages!
> 
> also i've never used tinder, and have written it according to what i understand from friends and watched from youtube (yes, tinder youtube tutorials exist!)

Betty’s morning started like every other, a six o’clock alarm followed by an hour long session at the gym in her building. She popped next door to the coffee shop where one of her best friends, Kevin, worked where he’d always surprise her with a random syrup added to her latte, and after grabbing that and her roommates coffee, head back to her apartment. She lived with her long time best friend, Veronica, who had also moved to New York after college. After taking the mail, and having a chat with a downstairs neighbor, Betty would work for part of the morning from home in the study.  
  
~  
  
At 26, Betty was starting to notice a lot of her old school and college friends settling down and marrying their school sweethearts, and (not from lack of trying by her friends) Betty was still single in the big city. Not that it massively bothered her, it allowed Betty to concentrate on her career as a journalist and become one of the youngest senior editors at The Evening Herald.  
  
Her older sister, Polly, had married her high school boyfriend and even had twins before Betty finished school. Not that she wasn’t happy for her, Betty loved her niece and nephew and every moment she got to spend with them. Her mom was always asking about her love life and suggesting she socialise more with the big money makers from the city.  
  
It seemed everyone in her life had someone, but her.  
  
~  
  
That morning, a fancier than normal envelope was amongst the post. With its cursive writing, Betty could guess it was another wedding invite, but when she opened it and scanned the paper, she let out a loud, _“No fucking way,”_ that caught Veronica’s attention from the living room.  
  
“What is it? Are you okay?” her best friend asked.  
  
Stretching her arm out, she waved the invite in front of Veronica. “Read this.”  
  
She raised an eyebrow and accepted the paper, reading out loud, _“Mr. Adam Chisholm and Miss. Rebecca Walton-Chambers request the honor of your presence at their wedding on November twenty-eighth, blah blah blah.”_  
  
“I can’t believe he invited me. The cheek of it.”  
  
“The cheek of what?” Veronica’s boyfriend Archie asked, walking in. “Who’s getting married, babe?”  
  
“My ex,” Betty replied.  
  
Archie’s eyes widened. “Oh. The one whose name we never mention?”  
  
“Well seeing how I’ve only had one boyfriend, yep that one. Ugh,” she said, falling back onto the sofa on the wall behind her desk.  
  
“Are you going?” Veronica asked, sitting next to her.  
  
“I don’t know, V,” she sighed, putting her head in her hands.  
  
“You can work from home, right?” Veronica asked, to which Betty nodded in reply and curled herself into her best friend’s open arms. “Okay, call in sick and get some work done. We’ll sort this out later when our adult responsibilities are over and it’s an acceptable time to drink wine. Sound good?” Betty nodded again and Veronica pressed a kiss into her hair. “We’ll leave you for now, sweetie.”  
  
Betty smiled and hugged Veronica. “Thanks, V.”  
  
~  
  
Betty and Adam were childhood sweethearts. He’d first asked her to be his date to the freshman dance and the rest was history, was being the key word. They’d survived the rest of high school and even college, but two days after graduating, (and three weeks before the planned date for them to move into their first apartment), Betty had received a text from Adam asking to meet. They had met at a cafe local to the new apartment where Adam then told her about an opportunity for him to travel abroad for a job, but he wanted to go a single man, and not feel tied to New York. _(‘Tied to you’ was what Betty had heard)._  
  
So she wished him well and said goodbye, calling upon her best friend Veronica for a girls night. She’d learned of Veronica’s wish to move apartments to something nicer (which she could now afford thanks to her trust fund kicking in post graduation), so with her help, Betty managed to cancel everything and put her money towards a place with Veronica.  
  
~  
  
Betty stared out of the window, watching the streets below. She’d just received an email from her boss telling her to take the day off and that he’d cover her work.  
  
After catching up with her emails, Betty set her out of office reply and closed the laptop, putting it away until tomorrow. Not knowing what to do with her time, Betty moved to her personal computer and looked on _Facebook_ , something she hadn’t done in almost a year and the first thing to pop up on her news feed was a picture of her newly engaged ex-boyfriend with his new fiancée and a massive diamond engagement ring. Tempted by the blue underlined name, Betty clicked on the hyperlink to Rebecca’s _Facebook_ page where she learned that Rebecca was British, a lawyer, and already in wedding planning mode, with another link to their wedding website in her bio.  
  
Betty couldn’t resist clicking on it and reading about their story, and it didn’t bother her as much as she’d thought it mights. She even found herself laughing at points in their so called love story, how they knew it was meant to be from the moment they saw each other. _‘I’m sure Adam had that thought several times over after we broke up,’_ she thought, recalling some of the stories she’d heard through the grapevine.  
  
Once she’d satisfied herself with knowing she wasn’t bothered by the engagement in the slightest, Betty decided to catch up on some admin work.  
  
-  
  
Later on, once Veronica had returned from work, they’d ordered take out via Archie (who just so happened to pass the Chinese place that they loved so much) and cracked open a bottle of wine.  
  
It was halfway into the meal when Archie brought up the topic of the wedding, which earned him a shove from Veronica.

“Well, B? Are you going to go?”  
  
“You know what, I am,” she replied smiling.  
  
Veronica looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “Really? You’re fine now? Even though a mere few hours ago, you were torn about the decision?”  
  
“When I was checking social media, I may have stumbled across their photo and wedding website.”  
  
“And?”  
  
“And I don’t feel bothered. I mean, sure eight years is a long time, but we were still growing and we just happened to grow apart. Part of me wonders what our lives might be like if we were still together, if that would be us getting married or if we’d already be married. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to move in with you, V; and you probably wouldn’t have told me about the opening at the magazine and I wouldn’t have the job I do now.”  
  
Veronica smiled. “So, if you are going... are you going alone?”  
  
Betty scoffed. “Don’t really have much of a choice, do I? It’s not like any guys are giving me a second look, especially because I seem to drive every guy away after the first date.”  
  
“When was the last time you went on one?” Archie asked, shoving another fork full of rice into his mouth.  
  
“Um, a few months ago,” Betty mumbled into the glass she had picked up to drink.  
  
Veronica moved said glass and asked, “Just how many months ago?”  
  
“Well... you and Archie met last August, so the month before that.”  
  
“B, what? I thought you’d gone out with some guys we’d set you up with?”  
  
“Well,” Betty placed her empty plate on the table and curled her legs under herself, holding a glass of wine, “I did go on a few but after a while they just got, I don’t know, boring I guess.”  
  
“We need to find you a date. One that’s one hundred times better than Adam,” Veronica stated, topping off her wine glass.  
  
“I think any guy is better than Adam,” Archie inputted, earning a smile from Betty who reached forward to put her glass on the table then shifted to high five him. “Why don’t you try _Tinder_? It did well for us, right babe?”  
  
“Archiekins, that’s brilliant. Betty, hand me your phone please.” Veronica held her hand out where her friend placed the phone. “We’re going to set you up with the best profile and find you your dream guy.”  
  
“Oh God,” Betty groaned, laying her head on the armrest of the sofa.  
  
-  
  
On Saturday morning, Betty woke up to her phone bleeping with notifications. Squinting to read the time, and cursing herself for having the screen brightness turned up so high, she saw 08:23 am, but thankfully it was a Saturday so she didn’t have to be anywhere.  
  
Opening her lock screen, she pulled up the app with the most notifications and yelled for Veronica who came rushing in.  
  
“Everything okay?”  
  
Betty didn’t answer and shoved her phone at her friend whose eyes went wide after seeing how many matches she had. “I didn’t even know that number was possible!” Followed by a quiet, “Damn it Archie.”  
  
“Archie? Wait, what did he do?” Betty asked.  
  
“Well, I may or may not have left him with the phone briefly and so he possibly could be the one responsible for you having matched with so many people.”  
  
“Ugh. How do I look at my settings?”  
  
Veronica opened them then handed Betty her phone back. Scanning through her profile, she was happy with the photos used and bio that had been written. “Archie suggested that. I thought the lyrics were good,” Veronica said as her friend smiled at _The Journey_ lyrics.  
  
“Ages 20 - 50?” Betty near yelled. “Why would I go out with a 50 year old?”  
  
“I don't know, maybe you could get a sugar daddy or something?”  
  
“V, my actual dad is 50, and mom’s boyfriend is older. I’m changing this,” Betty declared. “24 to 30 sounds alright. So, how do I do this?” she asked, passing the phone back to Veronica.  
  
“Okay, so you press here to see your potential partner and basically swipe right if you like them, left if you don’t. Let’s see who we have here,” Veronica murmured.  
  
They read through matches and swiped left on most, only a handful earning an approval from Betty for them to swipe right.  
  
-  
  
When Archie arrived a few hours later, Betty was making lunch whilst Veronica was working from the dining table. He greeted the blonde with a smile and nod before wrapping his arms around Veronica and planting a kiss on her cheek. “For you, m’lady,” he said, handing her a bouquet of flowers.  
  
Betty mock pouted. “Where’s my gift?”  
  
Archie chuckled and reached into the bag that was in his hand and pulled out a big bar of chocolate. “See, I’ve learned from my past mistakes.”  
  
“You’re my favorite,” she said. “Thank you.”  
  
“You’re welcome,” Archie replied as he retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge and leaned against the counter next to Betty. “So, how’s your _Tinder_ adventure coming along?”  
  
The blonde smiled, thinking of the hour that she and Veronica had spent picking apart people’s profiles, then she remembered what Archie had done. “Well, I was informed that a certain redhead was left with my phone last night and did some swiping for me?”  
  
Archie looked slightly alarmed, the last time Betty had used that tone of voice with him was when he’d cleaned up the kitchen after cooking and took it upon himself to reorganize the cupboards. He’d apologized (and bought her two gift boxes of chocolate) and had not crossed her since, until now. “I’m sorry, I thought it’d help. If I buy you more chocolate, would you forgive me?”  
  
“Of course!” she replied with a smile. “I mean I wasn’t really mad at you but I’ll still take the chocolate. Anyway, I’m not sure, I haven’t checked it since this morning.”  
  
Betty continued cooking and Veronica hadn’t looked up from her laptop, so Archie sat down on the couch and watched TV.  
  
Once lunch was served, the three sat around the dining table and Veronica asked for Betty’s phone. “So, we went through and found some potential matches for Betty this morning. Let’s see how many messages she’s got,” Veronica said as if she was commentating for a TV show.  
  
“Oh, nine messages.” She opened a few, and judging from her reaction, Betty was glad she wasn’t the one that opened them. “So out of the nine, five were dick pics so they’re out, and one whose pickup line was so cheesy it was just an automatic delete, and that leaves three.”  
  
“First guy, called Trev. He sent a simple _‘hey, what’s good?’_ He’s a legal assistant in the city. Second guy, just says J. Oh he’s a second grade teacher, and he messaged, _‘It’s a small world. I went to Cornell, too!’_ and the last guy Chuck, just sent the _Wazzup_ gif from _Scream_. So, who do we message first?”  
  
“The teacher. I wonder if I know him,” Betty replied.  
  
“Really? His name is just a letter? What if he’s some creep?”  
  
“Then I’ll blame you,” Betty said pointedly and Veronica handed her phone back to her and opened up the message from J. “He kind of looks familiar,” she said to herself, squinting at the screen but the profile’s photo looked like it was taken in 2008. “Do I say ‘hey’ back?”  
  
Archie shook his head. “No, he started a conversation with you so reply with the same context. Ask what year he graduated or what he studied or something.”  
  
Betty nodded. “Ugh, why do I feel nervous? He’s just a stranger. I have no problems with starting conversations with people normally.”  
  
“Normally you’re not looking for a potential boyfriend,” Veronica pointed out.  
  
“True,” the blonde replied. “Okay, I’ve sent _‘That’s crazy! I graduated five years ago, you?’_ ”  
  
“That sounds good, B. Now we just wait and see-” Veronica was cut off by Betty’s phone beeping with a notification. “Is that him?”  
  
Betty smiled widely and nodded. “Yep. He said he left seven years ago. Oh, he sent a picture of his graduation,” she said, opening the picture into full screen and showing Veronica and Archie.  
  
“He’s a handsome one, nice pick,” Veronica said with a wink.  
  
Betty blushed slightly. “Um, I’m going to my room. I have a couple of articles to proofread before next week.”  
  
“It’s the weekend Betty, why don’t we go out or something? You can invite your new friend?” Archie suggested.  
  
“Yeah,” Veronica added. “Then at least you won’t be alone when you meet him. Stranger danger and all that.”  
  
“Maybe another time?” Veronica raised her eyebrow (like she did when she didn’t believe something). “I promise, V. I’ve only _just_ messaged him after all.”  
  
“Okay, well do you mind if we go out?” When Betty shook her head no, she added, “We’ll probably stay at Archie’s tonight. Don’t work too hard.”  
  
“I won’t. See you tomorrow,” she said walking to her room.  
  
Once inside, Betty fell backwards onto her bed with a smile on her face. She looked at the last message from J, which led her to wondering why his name was only a letter. _‘Can I ask you something? You don’t have to answer’_ she typed nervously, hoping he wouldn’t stop talking to her.  
  
He didn’t reply straight away, like before, and Betty panicked slightly thinking she’d pushed a boundary. When it came close to thirty minutes without a response, Betty was panicking even more so she decided to pull out her laptop and distract herself with work.  
  
Fifty minutes after she’d sent the message, her phone beeped again. _‘I’m so sorry. My phone battery died.’_ Another message popped up. _‘You can ask.’_  
  
“How do I word this?” Betty mumbled to herself. _‘Why don’t you have a name?’_ she typed quickly and sent it, followed by, _‘Not that you don’t have a name. But why is your name on here only a letter.’_  
  
“Okay Betty, calm down. He’s just a guy,” she told herself. He replied much quicker this time. _‘The J stands for a nickname I go by.’_  
  
_'Why didn’t you put your real name?’_  
  
_‘Where’s the fun in that?’_ J replied with a winky face. _‘My real name isn’t that much better, but I’d rather be J than F. Sounds cooler.’_  
  
_‘So what does the J stand for?’_  
  
_‘You’ll have to earn that,’_ he replied, quickly followed by, _‘That wasn’t meant to sound so creepy.’_  
  
Betty chuckled, _‘I get your point,’_ she replied then decided to turn off her phone to prevent distractions so she could carry on with her work.  
  
After an hour, Betty had finished her prep for the following week and turned her phone back on, immediately seeing a missed call from her sister and a text that said to call her ASAP.  
  
She hit redial and waited for it to ring four times before hearing a cheery greeting from her sister. “Betty hey, sorry did I call at a bad time?”  
  
“No, not at all. I just had to get some work done. You wanted me to call you?” she asked.  
  
“Ah yes, hold on a minute, let me go into the kitchen.” Betty could hear Polly say something in the background then heard a door close. “Sorry about that. Ah so, I got an invitation in the mail this morning for Adam’s wedding.”  
  
The younger Cooper groaned. “He invited you?”  
  
“Oh yes. Followed by a phone call a couple of hours ago because he wanted to explain that it was because I used to babysit him and not because he used to date my little sister. He also mentioned that he invited you.”  
  
“Yeah, he did. Veronica only brought up the mail an hour ago or I would have called you sooner,” Betty fibbed, hoping her sister wouldn’t be able to detect the slight change in her voice.  
  
“I’m not interrogating you, Betty. I just want to know if you’re planning on going or not,” Polly said gently. “And if you are, are you bringing a plus one?”  
  
“Polly!” she moaned, like her five year old self used to do when her sister used to goad her.  
  
“What? Can’t a girl ask if her little sister is dating someone?” Then after a minute continued, “Well, are you? If not, you should really put yourself out there a bit more. You’ve always been-”  
  
“There is someone,” Betty said, jumping in, cutting Polly off from a conversation that was starting to resemble one she’d have to have with her mother.  
  
“Elizabeth Cooper, why haven’t I been told about this someone!”  
  
“It’s a new development.”  
  
“Well, what’s his name? What does he do? When can I meet him?”  
  
“Slow down, Pol,” Betty said before thinking carefully about her choice of words. “I don’t want to jinx anything yet,” she explained. “But he’s a teacher in elementary school and that’s all I’m going to say.” Betty silently hoped that she remembered his profile right.  
  
“Fine, I’ll drop it for now, but I want an update soon, baby sister.”  
  
“Soon. I promise.” She paused for a moment. “Oh, Veronica needs my help with something.”  
  
“Okay, speak soon. Bye,” Polly said then disconnected the call.  
  
Betty breathed a quick sigh of relief that the conversation was over and threw her phone somewhere on her bed. Then she picked it up again and opened _Tinder_ , “I can be out there,” she mumbled to herself and typed out _‘I know this is soon, but do you maybe want to meet for a coffee?’_ but before sending it, Betty placed her phone in front of her and tried to reason with herself about asking a stranger out.  
  
After counting down from three, she decided to press send then plugged her phone in to charge, setting up a movie on _Netflix_ and eventually falling asleep without realizing somewhere in the process she had also silenced it.  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a big thank you for all the love on the first chapter! it really does mean a lot!

On Sunday, Betty went about her usual morning routine, not bothering to check her phone. Veronica arrived home just before midday and the two decided to go out for lunch. They took the subway to Brooklyn where one of their favorite eateries was located.    
  
They chose their usual order and sat down in the back of the cafe (and after Veronica had updated her _Instagram_ story), Betty and Veronica made a plan of which shops they wanted to visit. Veronica told her of the adventures that she and Archie had the previous night, which included a story involving a flamingo floatie and one of Archie’s friends getting a nipple piercing.  
  
After they finished eating, the girls shopped for a couple of hours which Veronica called her weekly workout from the walking and heavy lifting. On their way back to the subway station, she’d noticed a new nail salon had opened and treated herself and Betty to pedicures. They’d arrived home exhausted and hungry, and after a little groveling on the phone (and promises Betty did not want to hear about), Veronica had convinced Archie to cook for them.  
  
“You’re so lucky that you found him, V,” Betty said, emerging from her bedroom after changing into her comfy clothing.  
  
“I know. He’s truly the best guy I’ve ever met,” Veronica said. “I wish I’d have met him earlier.”  
  
“Yeah, but you found him in the end, and that’s what matters,” Betty pointed out.  
  
“True.” She smiled. “Hey, how’s your guy? You know his name yet?”  
  
“Oh, I haven’t looked yet today.”  
  
“Betty! You have to check or-” Veronica was cut off by Archie opening the front door.  
  
“Honey, I’m home,” he yelled.  
  
“This conversation isn’t over, Betty. I’m finding out more about your handsome teacher sooner or later,” she said before walking over to greet Archie.  
  
“I decided to use my grandma’s old recipe for chicken parmesan, if that’s okay with you both?” he asked, to which the girls nodded. “Betty, could I use your expert opinion please?”  
  
Betty’s eyebrows furrowed and whilst Veronica looked at her for her response, she saw Archie nod his head and mouth ‘please’. “Sure,” she shrugged.  
  
“What’s my job, babe?” Veronica asked, leaning up to kiss Archie. “As long as it doesn’t involve cooking, it’s still not my thing.”  
  
“How about you go and relax and we’ll call you when it’s ready?”  
  
Veronica nodded and went to her room, kissing him again on the way out.  
  
Archie turned the radio on in the kitchen as he and Betty started to unpack the bag he’d brought over. He’d started preparing the dish and assigned Betty her jobs and midway through, turned to her and said, in a rushed voice, “I wanna ask Ronnie to marry me.”  
  
Betty’s eyes went wide and she smiled. “That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you. Do you have anything planned? Oh, have you picked the ring?”  
  
Archie nodded and pulled his phone from his pocket, opening his email. He showed her the sketched design. “Ronnie deserves the best so I thought this was a cute design. Then I realized that I know nothing about rings and fashion and the like, so I thought I’d ask for your opinion.”  
  
Betty studied the design and after a few minutes, looked back at him with a smile. “This is what she’s described before as her dream ring. How did you know?” she asked, handing the phone back.  
  
“I may have queued up bridal shows then casually asked her random questions throughout about her dream wedding,” Archie replied sheepishly.  
  
“That’s cunning. I like that,” Betty replied.  
  
“And you don’t think it’s too soon? One of my other friends said it was.”  
  
“Well, he clearly doesn’t know you well enough. I think you guys are perfect for each other. She’s going to be so happy.”  
  
Archie smiled and wrapped his arm around her in a hug. “Thank you, Betty - for everything.”  
  
“You can thank me by not coming back here whatever night you _do_ pop the question. I was in the room earlier when V was on the phone with you and I could go a lifetime without hearing what she said she had planned.”  
  
Archie blushed then smiled. “Will do.”  
  
“Do you have any plans yet?”  
  
“Well, I think that it should be small. As much as she loves the big gestures, I want it to be a moment between us. We can do all the big, fancy things she wants after but I was thinking of taking her to the botanical gardens or something. Can you think of anywhere?”  
  
Betty shook her head. “Not at the moment, I’ll bring it up in a conversation and let you know?”  
  
Archie nodded. “Thank you.” Then after a moment, looked down at the pan in front of him. “We should really get back to cooking.”  
  
Betty smiled and nodded. Of course, she was happy for her best friend, but she wished she could find that person, too.  
  
  
After eating, Betty retired to her bedroom where she checked her phone. Even though there wasn’t an app notification, she clicked on _Tinder_ , and saw a number five next to J’s contact. The first message read, _‘How did you know? I live on coffee!’_ The next, _‘Maybe we could meet on Monday?’_ . There was a small gap to indicate that the time had crossed into the next day and that Sunday morning’s messages read, _‘Unless that’s way too soon for you.’_ , _‘Message me when is okay.’_ And the last message was received an hour before Betty checked her phone, _‘I know not everyone is addicted to their phones but I hope that you’re okay. Talk soon maybe?’_ he finished it off with his number.  
  
Betty sent a silent prayer that she hadn’t had to ask for it, nor that she had to be the one to send hers, and seem too eager (like she’d been told by Polly over the past few years). Deciding she had nothing to lose, Betty saved the number then rang it.  
  
After four rings, she was about to hang up when a slightly out of breath voice answered, “Hello?”  
  
“Um, hi.”  
  
“Yes. Can I help you?”  
  
Betty shook her head to try and focus. “Yes, hi sorry. I’m Betty, is this um, J?”  
  
“Ah yes, sorry can you hold on for a moment please?” he asked. She could hear him take a couple of deep breaths before returning to the conversation. “Sorry, I was out on a run. I didn’t hear from you today, I hope you are okay. Not that you have to talk to me every day or anything but I thought-”  
  
“J, it’s fine,” Betty cut him off, chuckling slightly that he also gets flustered like her. “I was out with a friend today, but I’m happy to meet tomorrow if you’d like?”  
  
“That sounds good. I live in the East Village. Hopefully, you’re not the other side of the city,” he replied.  
  
“No, thankfully. I’m only in Greenwich Village. Maybe we can meet halfway? Do you know anywhere?”  
  
“I just passed 3rd Avenue Station. There’s a coffee shop a couple of blocks over called _Think Coffee_ if that sounds okay?”  
  
“Wait a second, let me write that down,” Betty said, grabbing the notebook and pen to the side of her bed then repeated his directions back to her.  
  
“I do work uptown, so it would have to be early.”  
  
“I’m normally up at six anyway, does seven sound okay?” she asked.  
  
“Sounds good. See you in a few hours, B-”  
  
“Oh wait, before you go,” she cut him off again, then apologized. “Sorry, I keep cutting you off.”  
  
“No, it’s fine. Go ahead,” he replied.  
  
“Will you tell me now what the J stands for?”  
  
He chuckled on the other end, then said, “See you tomorrow, Betts,” before cutting the phone call.  
  
The nickname made her smile. Apart from Veronica, no one else had given her a nickname straight away. She was always Elizabeth until she corrected them to her preferred name of Betty. She nodded along with her thoughts, there’s something special about this guy.  
  
-  
  
Monday morning, Betty woke up earlier than normal at half past five. She had a weird feeling in her stomach, a mix of excitement and nerves (more excitement than nerves). After going through a combination of clothing in her head, she decided to keep it casual with a white blouse and black pencil skirt, black flats and a light grey jacket. Her hair was down in its natural curls and she packed her handbag with everything she’d need to head into work straight after.  
  
Leaving a note on the kitchen counter for Veronica, Betty set off for the subway which thankfully wasn’t a long walk.  
  
Arriving at the cafe, that was a lot busier that she’d thought, Betty suddenly realized she had no idea where he’d be. She stood by the door, waiting until an angry looking woman shoved her out of the way and she landed next to a table where a man was sitting, playing on his phone.  
  
“I’m so sorry,” she began. “Someone pushed me.”  
  
He replied, “That’s fine.” Then looked up. “Betty?”  
  
A smile broke out across her face. “J?” she asked, to which he nodded in response. He stood up and they both looked at each other before coming to a silent decision that a handshake would be a good start. Seeing that he had a cup of coffee in front of him, Betty said, “I’m just going to get myself a drink. Is there anything that you want?”  
  
“No, thank you.”  
  
Betty nodded and joined the back of the queue, stealing glances towards her coffee date. _Wait, was this a date? Or just a casual meeting?_ _Can you meet on Tinder just for a casual meeting?_ Her thoughts were interrupted by the barista calling for the next customer that just so happened to be her. She ordered a latte and two croissants that looked too tempting to ignore.  
  
When she arrived back at the table, Betty placed the plate with the pastries in the middle of the table and sat opposite J.  
  
“Hi, these looked too good so I thought I’d buy you one, too,” she said, indicating to the plate.  
  
“A girl after my own heart.” He smiled. “Thank you.” A few minutes of silence passed whilst Betty drank some of her coffee and J ate his croissant, then said, “I hope you found the place okay. I didn’t know how busy it was going to be. I don’t normally come this route in the morning.”  
  
“I think I’ve been here once before a few years ago but I’m not one hundred percent sure. I only really go to the one next to my building now.” Her companion _(date? potential partner?)_ nodded, and before he could speak again, she asked, “So do I finally get to learn your name?”  
  
He thought for a moment before replying, “Fine. If you promise not to laugh or anything.” Betty signed a cross with her index finger over her chest which made him smile. “My preferred name is Jughead.”  
  
“Jughead,” Betty repeated. “Why would I laugh at that?”  
  
“People at school used to pick on me for it. They also made fun of me for my real name, so I picked the slightly cooler sounding one of the two. My other name is Forsythe.”  
  
Betty pursed her lips to stop a smile. “I see why you stuck with Jughead. No offense.”  
  
“None taken - at all. Forsythe’s a family name, I’m the _third_ ,” he said dramatically, holding three fingers up.  
  
“Wow. I’m guessing by your love of the name that your son isn’t going to be the fourth,” Betty teased, then thought _holy crap why am I talking about his hypothetical kids._ “I mean, if you even want kids that is. Sorry.”  
  
“Betty, it’s fine. And if I do have kids, it won’t be my first choice, maybe as a middle name or something. Enough about me now, your profile said that you’re an editor?”  
  
She smiled widely. “Yep. I work at _The Evening Herald._ Been there for just over two years but before that, I did freelance writing for a media website thing like _Buzzfeed_ but with less buzz.”  
  
“Ah, I see. Do you enjoy it?”  
  
“Most days.” Betty nodded. “My parents are both journalists, so in a way, it felt like a natural progression. You’re a teacher, right? How did you decide that’s what you wanted to do?”  
  
“I am yeah, to a lovely group in the second grade. My teachers always told my parents that I was _‘naturally gifted’,_ ” he exaggerated in air quotes, “in English and when I started high school, they asked me back to help tutor some of the younger students and I loved doing it.” Jughead’s phone lit up with a message that he dismissed.  
  
“Is it local to here? I hope you didn't have to make a big diversion.”  
  
“Not at all, it's just the Q train uptown.” Jughead’s phone buzzed again. “I’m sorry, my sister keeps trying to contact me. Do you mind if I answer?”  
  
“Not at all,” Betty responded and Jughead took the call outside.  
  
She took a moment to look around at the interior of the cafe and made a mental note to bring Veronica there as it seemed like a place she’d love. Her eye caught the chalkboard that hung on the exposed brick next to a window. It had a message of the day which made her smile so she took a picture of it. The bell above the door rang as Jughead returned and sat back down opposite her. “Is everything okay?”  
  
“Yep. She’s going away for a couple of weeks with some friends and just wanted to check in before she boarded her flight.”  
  
“How old is she?”  
  
“She’s 22, graduated last year and won this trip to Italy with her friends. I wish I had that luck,” Jughead said, finishing the last of his coffee.  
  
“Tell me about it. The only thing I think I’ve won was the chance to tap the maple tree at the beginning of the season.” Betty looked up to see a slightly confused look on his face. “It’s a big thing from my town.”  
  
“Ah, I see. Do you have any siblings?” Jughead asked. “I hope I’m not being too nosy or anything.”  
  
“No, not at all! I have an older sister, Polly. She lives back home with her husband and kids. Do you only have one sister?”  
  
“Yep, just JB.” Jughead could see Betty’s next question so he said, “she has an even worse name than me and she definitely won’t forgive me if I tell you. So where’s home for you?”  
  
“I’ll get it out of you one day,” she said and he winked at her. “Home is a small town called Riverdale, upstate. Are you a New York native?”  
  
He shook his head. “Nope. I’m originally from Chicago, but we moved to Toledo just after my sister was born and then I moved here for college.”  
  
Betty’s phone bleeped several times in a row. “I’m so sorry about this,” she told him as she scanned through her messages. “One of the other editors is off sick today, my boss needs me to come in now. You don’t mind, do you?”  
  
“Not at all,” he smiled. “As long as we can meet again sometime?”  
  
“I’m sure that can be arranged,” she replied with a wide smile mirroring his. “When are you next free?”  
  
“Tonight,” Jughead replied quickly. “Unless that’s too soon, I’m free pretty much all week if you want to pick another day or something.”  
  
“Tonight sounds good. I’ll text you?” she asked and he nodded. Betty stood up made sure everything was still in her bag.  
  
Jughead stood up, too. “I’ll walk you out.”  
  
They discovered that they both had to go from the same station, so they walked there together, arms gently brushing as they did. Just before they reached the block that the subway station was on, a determined man walked past Betty, pushing her towards Jughead and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, so she wrapped her left arm around his waist for support and the pair didn’t let go until they were inside the station.  
  
“I guess I’ll see you later,” Betty said looking up at him.  
  
“Later it is,” Jughead said and pressed a kiss on her cheek before getting lost in the crowd of the station.  
  
It took Betty a moment before she moved to go to her platform, but the last message that she received before going underground was one from Jughead saying, _‘How’s 8 tonight?’  
  
_ -  
  
Betty left work just before six and rushed home to change her outfit. She and Jughead had been texting throughout the day, comparing their college experiences, time in the city and they’d also planned the outline for their meeting in the evening, with Betty deciding to give Jughead (limited) control of the night. Veronica had also texted her to let her know that she’d seen Betty’s note and that she’d be staying with Archie for the week as he’d planned for them to go away that weekend.  
  
Betty swapped her outfit for a pair of blue jeans, a black v-neck top and a pair of black sneakers. She took the subway back to 3rd Avenue, which they both discovered was halfway between their apartments.  
  
Jughead greeted her with a smile and a hug. “I’m glad you were able to meet tonight.”  
  
“So am I,” Betty smiled. “I’m looking forward to trying the diner that you’ve been talking about all day. We had a diner that my friends and I used to go to back home. It sets a pretty high standard.”  
  
“I bet this will be better than your diner.” He smirked smugly.  
  
Betty tilted her head to one side and crossed her arms. “And what do you want to use as a wager?”  
  
Jughead mimicked her actions and thought for a moment. “Another date.”  
  
Her eyebrow raised. “That confident, are we?”  
  
“Oh yes.,” He nodded.  
  
“Fine. You win and we go out on another date, you lose and well, I wouldn’t mind you paying for breakfast the next time we meet.” She stuck out her hand and he shook it. “Let’s go.”  
  
They walked for a while before reaching a quiet side street that Jughead led them down. The building had a flashing neon sign in the window that read ‘open’ and he went ahead and opened the door to let them both in. The man standing behind the counter looked up at the sound of the bell and grinned widely.  
  
“Jughead,” he exclaimed, walking over to shake his hand. “I see you’ve brought a lady friend. Nice to meet you ma’am,” he said extending his hand to her.  
  
“It’s Betty, please,” she replied, shaking his hand.  
  
“In all the years I’ve known Jughead, he’s never brought anyone here. You must be special.” He winked.  
  
“Oh, wow.” Betty smiled, looking to Jughead who was looking at the ground. “So he comes here often then?”  
  
“Every single day without fail. Where are my manners, why don’t you follow me Miss Betty and I’ll show you to a table,” he replied, holding his arm out for Betty, which she took and followed him, with Jughead close behind.  
  
When they sat down, the owner, who had instructed Betty to call him Pop, returned with a menu for her. “Jughead always has the same order, so just let me know when you want to order.”  
  
“Thank you,” Betty said with a smile. She turned to Jughead. “So you come here every day?”  
  
Jughead smiled back. “Ever since I moved to New York for college. I found a really cheap place to rent down here, it wasn’t the best and I had to be up early to travel, but it was worth it to find this place. Pop has _the best_ food around.”  
  
Betty pushed the menu towards him. “In that case, you can choose my meal.”  
  
Jughead nodded and closed the menu. “I’ve been coming here for years. I know everything on the menu.” He got up and went to the counter, coming back with two cups of coffee, one in each hand, two bottles of water tucked under his arm and a jug of cream, balancing it all. “I used to work weekends here,” he explained sitting down. “I forgot to ask what you wanted to drink, so I got water and coffee, hopefully one’s okay.”  
  
Betty nodded. “I’ll take the water thank you. If I have coffee now, there’s no way I’ll get a peaceful sleep.”  
  
Jughead took a drink from the coffee cup. “I’ve been drinking it for so long that it doesn’t affect me anymore.”  
  
“Cool,” she mumbled in response, just loud enough for her date to hear.  
  
The conversation died down with only the sound of music coming from the jukebox that occupied the corner of the diner filling the silence. The bell above the door rang out, and they both looked towards the source of the sound to see the only other person that had been in the diner leave. Betty, whose back was to the door, spun back in her seat to face Jughead. She returned the smile he was giving her. Pop delivered their identical plates of food, with an extra portion of cheese fries that Jughead hadn’t ordered.  
  
Betty looked down at the burger in front of her and looked happy. She took a bite out of it and nodded her head. “ _This_. This is so worth losing a bet for.”  
  
Jughead chuckled. “Good I take it?”  
  
She continued to eat the burger. “Definitely. Much better than Sonny’s back home.”  
  
“Sonny?”  
  
Betty nodded again, putting her burger down to take a drink. “The owner’s name was Sonny. Well, technically the diner was called Sunshine but Sonny’s had a better ring to it so that’s what everyone called it.” The two then fell into silence again, eating their food with no small talk.  
  
“So you win,” Betty said, finishing her last bite.  
  
“I did tell you it was good.”  
  
“Yeah, but not this good! I wish I could eat every meal here.”  
  
“My sister does that whenever she comes to town. I feel like she spends more time here than at my place.” After a beat of silence, he continued, “She actually signed me up for TInder last time she was here.”  
  
Betty reached for her water. “Oh really? How have you found it?”  
  
“It’s been,” he paused, “interesting for sure. I’ve not been on many dates but the first one was with, I think her name was Katie or Kaitlyn or something. Anyway, she suggested this bar for us to go to, and when we got there, she pointed out her ex-boyfriend, who also happened to own the place. I didn’t think too much of it at first, but she spent the whole time talking to him who somehow thought _I_ was a big threat and even threatened me. Oh, and he moonlighted as a cage fighter.”  
  
“No way,” Betty mumbled with a smile on her face. “What happened?”  
  
“I took the subtle hint and left. She messaged me the next day to apologize but also thanked me for helping her get back together with her ex.” Jughead paused to finish his coffee. “So you must have a crazy _Tinder_ story.”  
  
“Nope.” Betty shook her head and played with her hands. “You’re actually my first date from _Tinder_. My best friend and her boyfriend signed me up after, well,” she paused.  
  
“Go on,” he encouraged her.  
  
“I received a wedding invite from my ex. It’s been a while since I’ve been on a date and Veronica, my best friend, encouraged me to join in hopes that I find someone, you know, to be with. But I do have an awkward first date story from a couple of years ago.” They both leaned as Betty continued to tell him the story that included her date’s mother also being on a date in the same restaurant that ended with the four of them awkwardly eating together.  
  
As the diner was closing, the duo paid and left, deciding to walk for a while first. They had ended up talking about past relationships and found it easy to talk to each other. “Today was fun,” Betty said as they turned another corner. “Both this morning and now.”  
  
“So you’d want to go out again?” Jughead asked.  
  
“Of course,” Betty replied enthusiastically. “You also lost a bet so that’s at least two dates.” Jughead stopped walking and she turned on her heel to face him. “What?” she asked softly, subconsciously licking her lips.  
  
Jughead took a breath before closing the gap between them as she smiled into the kiss. They stood on the sidewalk, unfazed by the rain that had started to pour, only pulling away when the thunder clapped above them. “We should get going,” Jughead said, grabbing her hand and running faster towards the station that was at the end of the block.  
  
“Do you want to come back to mine?” Betty asked in a rush, then backtracked. “Not for, well _that_ but for us to talk some more? Only if that’s okay, I know you have to work tomorrow but my roommate is away-”  
  
Jughead looked at the digital clock on the wall that showed it was just before nine. “I’m sorry but I have class prep at home, plus I’d need clothes and stuff.” Betty looked down and nodded which made Jughead sad, he hadn’t known Betty for long but he knew he didn’t like seeing her sad. “I could always come on Friday with it being the weekend and all, if you want that is. We could watch a movie or something, without having to pay extraordinary prices for tickets and popcorn.”  
  
“That sounds great.”  
  
“We should probably get going,” he said ,leaning in for another kiss. “Text me that you get home safe.”  
  
They swiped their metrocards and walked through the turnstiles. “Will do. Night, Juggie.”  
  
“G’night Betts,” he said, waving and walking to his platform.  
  
Betty walked into her empty apartment and went about her evening routine, stopping to reply to Jughead’s texts every few minutes. They’d agreed on three movies to watch, and the last text that he’d sent after Betty went to sleep read, _‘If you need me to be your wedding date, just let me know.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to know your thoughts!

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to know your thoughts!


End file.
